It is not every day that you can experience sheer excitement and thrill in your ‘regular’ life. I did!

Setting: The driver of a car waves me through the intersection, although I – technically- have the stop sign. And while I am already mentally prepared to stop, I take her wave and quickly make my left turn.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see something colorful beneath me… but this being a few days after the 4th of July, I dismiss it as firework debris. When, PLUNK, my tire hits something.

AND THEN IT SLITHERS AWAY.

this thing is at least 5 feet long!

My heart skips a beat. A SNAKE!!! And we do not live ANYWHERE CLOSE where these creatures are common. At least not in the city. And definitively not in ORANGE.

So I get off my bike and stare in awe at the snake. What do I do now? Is is poisonous? Will it lunge at me and give me a deadly venom bite? As I try to think, I see a dog approaching. Now I am in full panic mode – what if it lunges at the dog? The dog being so much closer to the ground. my imagination runs wild while I calmly (ha,ha!) try to warn the dog walker.

By now, another woman has arrived. We both stand a few feet away from the unknown creature but she at least whips out her phone and googles the snake. After a bit back and forth, one eye on the snake, one eye on her phone screen, we determine it is a CORNSNAKE. A beautiful one at that. We both want it saved, so we somewhat block his way by standing on the sidewalk. Him in the grass, still.

This being a friendly neighborhood, the kids next door are realizing that something is going on and about 5 of them come tumbling down the sidewalk – with their dad in trail (heaven sent – a MAN, – he sure knows what to do!) Now, they get REALLY excited as dad quickly swoops up the snake. The energy is charged as every kid shouts questions, wants to hold it, stroke it…. which matches my nervous excitement, as I feel responsible for its well-being – I just RAN over it!

look how thick he is!

he has orange eyes!

The dad is great. He patiently handles the snake, hands it to the kids AND he is a biologist. Go figure. I call a pet store, we get information in what kind of container to put it, to give it some water. The kids name him Mr. Slither. He is okay, I did not break his bones, or dent him. Pheww.

It is a pet snake. Very docile, even friendly. I can hold it. We have an ad on Craigslist to find the owner. The kids and M., the dad, are keeping the snake until we find the owner.

Hopefully soon, because it might need to eat. A live mouse. In about three days. (I’m glad I didn’t take Mt. Slither home)